Press Coverage

June 22, 2020

The New Yorker - Solo Acts

...At the end of May, in a commission from the Guggenheim’s “Works & Process” series, Jamar Roberts produced an extraordinary five-minute dance titled “Cooped.” He choreographed, designed, directed, performed, and shot (on an iPad) this “fever dream,” alone, in a basement, surrounded by shadows that seem to close in on him—an effect ingeniously created by a floor lamp and a flashlight. The tense music was composed, arranged, and performed (remotely) by David Watson (bagpipes) and Tony Buck (drums).

June 20, 2020

CNN - Dance Troupe Tells The Story Of Massacre Of 300 Black Americans

Tulsa's 1921 massacre involved white mobs killing 300 black residents in their uniquely prosperous community. That painful chapter in American history was the focus of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater this season, before it was sprupt interrupted by covid-19 shutdowns. Now with this renewed attention on the Tulsa massacre, the dance group is streaming its Greenwood story starting this week. Artistic Director Robert Battle discusses Donald Byrd’s Greenwood.

June 19, 2020

FOX5 New York - How Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's 'Theater Of Disruption' Teaches About Racism

Choreographer Donald Byrd uses what he calls "theater of disruption" in his productions. Creating works of dance or theater that "disrupts the thinking of people around the issue of race," he said. And he is waking people up with his production Greenwood. In observance of Juneteenth, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is streaming the production online through Thursday, June 25. Through dance, Greenwood tells the horrific story of the 1921 race massacre in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Greenwood was a section of Tulsa and one of the most affluent black communities in the country. It was known as Black Wall Street. But white residents, angered by black progress, burned down homes and businesses and killed as many as 300 black residents.

June 12, 2020

Vogue - Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Hosted Its Spirit Gala Online — And You Can Watch It Through June 18

This spring has seen ballet leap into the digital world... Hosted last night on YouTube, the night raised funds for the Ailey company as well as the Equal Justice Initiative (a non-profit organization providing legal representation to the wrongly convicted and the disadvantaged). The night would bring a world premiere, archival footage of one of Mr. Ailey’s first-ever performances, and an expanded reimagining of Revelations. With cameos and kind words delivered by Ailey fans like Cynthia Erivo, Leslie Odom, Jr., Timothy Shriver (whose own daughter was student at The Ailey School), Angela Bassett, and more, it was a celebration of the dance company’s rich history and a moment of much-needed togetherness in honor of Black Lives Matter.

June 03, 2020

The Wall Street Journal - 'Revelations' For Trying Times

Since 2013, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater has appeared annually at Lincoln Center's David H. Koch Theater. This year is the exception, somewhat. As part of its Ailey All Access series of online presentations, begun March 30 in the wake of the pandemic, the troupe has been working on ways to still offer a June season of a sort. Before the theater shutdown, live performances had been scheduled for June 10 to 14. Instead, starting this Thursday at 8 p.m. EDT, viewers at home will be able to stream a four-part mixed bill, performed on the Koch stage, the was filmed in 2015.

May 22, 2020

NPR's Here & Now - Celebrating 'Revelations' In These Times

If life were normal this spring, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater would be on the road performing its annual national tour. They'd be celebrating the 60th anniversary of the company's signature work, “Revelations”, described by The New York Times as “modern dance's unquestionably greatest hit.”

May 13, 2020

The New York Times - Of Motherhood And Mourning

Since Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater began rolling out its online programming in March, I've been waiting for Ailey's always uplifting "Cry" to make an appearance. It arrived, approximately, just in time for Mother's Day. Ailey created this bracing 16-minute solo in 1971 as a birthday present to his mother, dedicating it to "all black women everywhere - especially our mothers."

April 17, 2020

The New York Times - Out There, Waiting To Be Explored: Dark Resilience

Rennie Harris is one of the great dance makers of our time. In adapting hip-hop dance to the concert stage, he is at once authentic, imaginative and affecting. Critics have been saying that for decades, but in all that concert stages were pretty much the only places you could see what we meant. The availability of his work on video or online has been close to nil. That changes this weekend, briefly, as Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater streams his "Lazarus" on its website.

March 29, 2020

The Boston Globe - Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Kicks Off Free Streaming Series

There may not be a crowd of folks gathering around a birthday cake. But make no mistake — Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is celebrating the anniversary of the company’s very first performance, on March 30, 1958, and we’re all invited. The organization is launching Ailey All Access (www.alvinailey.org/ailey-all-access) to share free online streaming of performances, classes, workshops, conversations, and short original films by company dancers.

March 21, 2020

The New York Times - Realigning For A Eurythmic Convergence

As the lyrics go in “I Been ’Buked” — the opening section of Alvin Ailey’s masterpiece, “Revelations” — “There is trouble all over this world.” Don’t we know it. Last week after Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater abruptly ended its tour and sent its dancers home, Danica Paulos — who creates content on Instagram for the group — asked her fellow company members if they were, she said, “down to create some positivity and some inspiration.”

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